This Day in History: Escaped Convict Recaptured in Port Jeff

After escaping from a Connecticut jail and travelling to Port Jefferson, a man was spotted by his wife and turned him into authorities on July 6, according to a report in the New York Times from 1907.

It should be no surprise that the man’s wife did turn him in. He had been convicted of assaulting her after all. The man identified in the report as Valentine Dickerson was said to be a former resident of the village.

Mrs. Valentine was “anxious that he should be recaptured” according to the article and began a search for him on her own.

You can read the whole article in The New York Times archive here.

The image of the Port Jefferson train station circa 1907 in this article is courtesy of the historical section of the Port Jefferson village website. For more information about this photo and to find many more historical photos visit the digital archive in the history section of the website.